


500 Miles

by hope-for-olicity (Jacq)



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post Episode Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:20:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23376157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacq/pseuds/hope-for-olicity
Summary: A short post 1x07 fic - what Zoey and Max are thinking after their talk.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Max Richman
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	500 Miles

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Max and Zoey fic, still finding my footing. I hope you enjoy.

Zoey looked at the windows, Joan wanted the next big idea now, and all she could do stare ahead and bite her lip. 

Had she screwed up everything with Max? Moe had told her to be honest with Max and she was...but did she lose her best friend by trying NOT to lose her best friend? Who thinks like this? Oh, it’s a good thing no one could see her sing her thoughts! 

The truth was she knew part of her did love Max. He was wonderful. They saw things the same way, he supported her at work and with her family. Max really was everything. Was she selfish to want to keep him?

She stood and began walking over to the snack bar. She had to move, clearly, she wasn’t having the next great Chrip thought sitting at her desk. Chirp, Zoey shook, remembering what she saw between Joan and Leif - she wished could erase that kiss from her mind!

“Is something wrong, Zoey?”

Zoey jumped, she hadn’t heard Joan walking to her despite her heels probably clicking on the floor. “No, just getting some snacks, some snacks from the snack area.”

“Good because I need to fill you in on Chirp. Come with me to my office, please.”

Zoey watched Joan walk away and wished she didn’t have to follow. _ I don’t want to know, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to know _, she repeated over and over in her head as she made her way to Joan’s office.

Joan sat down at her desk, “Zoey,”

“I DON’T WANT TO KNOW!” Zoey blurted before she could stop herself. She was still standing in front of Joan’s desk. All she knew was she really didn’t want to know about Joan and Leif. 

Joan looked shocked. “Zoey!”

“I mean, I want to know about Chirp. But only Chirp. Sorry, Joan, I got some personal things going on. Promise they won’t interfere,” Zoey sat down in the chair across from Joan. 

Joan was silent. 

Zoey knew Joan’s silences were never a good thing, “Joan, I’d like to..”

“This is about Max! I heard about that flash mob thing,” Joan motioned with her hands. “Oh Zoey, is this because you are worried about dating someone who reports to you?”

“Oh, it’s not that,” Zoey defended herself. Truthfully, it had not crossed her mind. But that was another good reason nothing could happen between them.

“Because, it’s okay as long as you clear it with HR, sign some forms.”

Zoey did not want to know how Joan knew this was okay. She just didn’t want to know. “Why don’t you tell me what’s new with Chirp?” Zoey tried to look eager to hear but really she was eager to finish this conversation and go get coffee.

*****

How did Simon not know that he and Zoey were tight? Max tried to shrug off last night’s elevator conversation but it still irked him. Zoey was his BEST FRIEND. Max looked over at Simon’s fancy office from his desk in the bullpen. 

Max knew since he started dating Autumn he had spent a little less time with Zoey. But still. And yet, Zoey didn’t love him. She was scared to lose their friendship. She didn’t think he was scared?

Zoey was THE MOST important person in his life. He really thought she dug the flash mob but instead, she was confused and now she says she hears people singing? It’s not that he didn’t believe her, Zoey would never lie to him - it’s just unbelievable.

“I DON’T WANT TO KNOW!”

Max’s head whipped around at the sound of Zoey’s voice. Did she just yell at Joan? He jumped up not sure if he should help? He stood, watched Zoey taking a seat. Looked like she had things handled. Zoey was very good at handling things.

Max sat back down at his desk.

“Can you just stop?” Leif walked toward him.

Stop what? Does Leif know? Does everyone know? “Stop?” He decided to play innocent and see how it played out.

“Humming that song!”

“Humming what song? I’m not humming,” Max was truly confused.

“You know, that song from Benny and Joon!”

“Benny and Joon? The 90s movie with Johnny Depp?”

“YES!”

“Sorry, man. I don’t know any songs from that movie. Wasn’t me.”

“I heard you! That 500 Miles song!” Leif was clearly exasperated.

“Oh, that song! It’s been stuck in my head since the other night. Sorry man, didn’t make the movie connection and I totally didn’t realize I was humming it.” Maybe Leif shared Zoey’s magical powers? Max watched Zoey leave Joan’s office and head for the elevator he knew he had to talk to her.

*****

“Zoey, wait up.” Max jogged to catch Zoey as she was stepping into the elevator.

Zoey held the door open confused that Max seemed so desperate, “Sure. What’s up?”

“Are you okay? I kind of heard you yell at Joan.”

“Oh, I didn't yell. It was just a thing, a thing, which is over. That I do not need to talk about.” Zoey paused for a moment hoping Max would jump in with why he wanted to talk to her. He didn’t. “So...what did you want to talk about?”

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor and they both stepped out.

“Are you leaving?” Max looked toward the main entrance.

“Just going out to get a breath of air and grab a coffee. You are welcome to come with me. Maybe tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. I’m still your friend.” Zoey carefully chose not to confirm this friend thing, she really couldn’t handle them not being friends at the moment.

“Yes, I’ll walk with you to get coffee. It’s about Leif.”

“NO!”

“Zoey, are you okay?” 

“Sorry, yes, I’m okay. I just don’t want to talk about Leif. I know nothing, I saw nothing, it is nothing.”

“Well, now I’m intrigued. I was just going to say I think he has your powers but now, I want to know what you know,” Max shrugged his eyebrow.

God, it was so annoying that he was so cute. “I saw Leif and Joan kiss, I mean kiss, kiss! And no, I don’t want to talk about it. I feel like I have cooties from seeing. Oh, and Leif, doesn’t have my powers.” Zoey began to walk faster.

Max walked to catch up before mimicking her quick pace. “Okay, we won’t talk about the kissing, because I don’t think I want to know either - eww. But the powers thing, how can you be so dismissive? He told me he heard me humming! I wasn’t humming!”

Zoey stopped. 

Max stopped and looked back at her on the busy sidewalk.

“Humming,” Zoey’s eyebrow rose. “I don’t hear humming, I hear singing, full-on dance performances. It’s like I get free flash mobs ALL. THE. TIME.” Zoey watches Max’s face fall. “But your real flash mob was the best by far, it was REAL, Max.”

“But he heard me humming, I wasn’t humming.” 

Max seemed to be trying to defend himself so Zoey gave him a bone, “Okay, tell me about it. What were you humming?”

“Well, I wasn’t humming. Just to be clear.”

Zoey nodded.

“Okay, Leif said I was humming that song by The Proclaimers, you know the 500 Miles one?”

Zoey blushed a little as she nodded.

“What? Did you hear me hum it too?” 

“No, I heard you sing it. A few nights ago, when you helped me get to the hospital when my Dad fell and then after…” Zoey drifted off wistfully. Seeing Max sing that song outside her parent’s house had been a little bit of a point of no return. She loved her best friend.

“You heard me sing it?” Max’s voice rose as he asked.

Zoey nodded. “It was really sweet. I loved it, actually,” Zoey's eyes were welling up. 

“Hey,” Max pulled her in for a hug. “No need to cry,” Max pulled back to look down at Zoey. “Or was my singing that bad?”

“Haha, you know you have an amazing singing voice. It’s just that when you sang that song, it all became clear. My feelings for you, how I couldn’t act on my feelings for you and how I can’t lose you, Max.”

“Your feelings for me?”

“Yes, I love you, too. But we are not doing this. I need you. I can’t mess this up” she pointed between them, “You are my rock. My everything. And with my Dad….”

Max pulled her in for a hug. “You are never going to lose me.”

Zoey heard his words in her ear, she pulled him closer.

They hugged for a while, well, until Zoey couldn’t ignore the “get a room” comments from strangers on the sidewalk. “We should get some coffee and head back. Chirp won’t build itself.”

Max pulled back, they began walking side by side again, “So Leif and Joan?”

“I’m not going there,” Zoey grumbled.


End file.
